Republican Rob Astorino is going nuclear in his effort to oust heavily favored Democratic incumbent Andrew Cuomo in the race for governor.
Astorino claims in a provocative new TV spot — his own take on the infamous “daisy girl’’ attack ad that helped Lyndon Johnson trounce Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election — that Cuomo could wind up in prison because of a federal criminal probe targeting a “cloud of corruption” hovering over the governor’s office.
The original 60-second “daisy” ad, which ran at the height of the Cold War amid rabid fear of Soviet-US nuclear combat, featured a little girl in a meadow picking the petals off daisies as a somber voice counts down for a missile launch.
Then it shows an erupting nuclear fireball. The ad was aired only once.
Astorino — who is trailing by 25 to 30 points in various polls — pays homage to its 50th anniversary, replicating the ad to a T in a 30-second spot titled “Jail.”
Rob AstorinoPhoto: Chad Rachman
Reshot to look just like the original, it includes black-and-white footage of his own prairie girl sitting in a field.
The Astorino ad starts with a message appearing across the screen: “Andrew Cuomo under federal investigation for corruption, witness tampering, obstruction of justice.”
Then an adorable, blond-haired girl in a white dress appears.
“1,2,3,4,5, 7, 6, 6,” the child miscounts innocently — as in the original — as she pulls the petals off a daisy.
The ad’s arrator then ominously begins his countdown: “10, 9, 8, 7, 6 . . .”
The girl’s startled face freezes as he continues counting: “5, 4, 3, 2, 1” . . . and then, Kaboom!
A loud explosion and ominous mushroom cloud erupts and envelops the screen.
The death cloud then morphs into a profile picture of Cuomo.
“These are the stakes. Do we re-elect a governor who may end up in jail?” the narrator says.
Preet BhararaPhoto: Getty Images
The ad alludes to Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara’s probe of whether the Cuomo administration meddled in the investigation assigned to his handpicked ethics panel in accordance with the Moreland Commission to Combat Public Corruption.
The inquiry, among other things, is looking into whether Cuomo’s office pressured the panel not to probe political allies and campaign contributors of the governor.
It also is investigating allegations that Moreland probers were discouraged from referring cases to prosecutors.
“Every New Yorker needs to know about the federal corruption investigation into Andrew Cuomo that may land him in prison,” Astorino, the two-term Westchester County Executive, told The Post.
“No ad in American history captured the attention of the nation more than ‘Daisy,’ and we believe this 50th anniversary version, ‘Jail,’ will similarly call attention to Andrew Cuomo’s corruption scandal here in New York. This governor swindled New Yorkers into believing he was a reformer, then arguably turned out to be the most corrupt state governor in modern times,” he said.
He added, “There is a giant cloud of corruption over New York, and it’s costing taxpayers dearly.”
Andrew CuomoPhoto: Reuters
Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing, insisting neither he nor his office impeded Moreland investigations.
He has hired criminal defense lawyer Elkan Abramowitz to represent him and the executive office in the ongoing investigation.
Cuomo abruptly shut down the Moreland panel in March — six months before its work was completed — after he reached agreement with the Legislature on watered-down ethics reform.
In an extraordinary public rebuke, Bharara accused Cuomo of bargaining away investigations into potential corruption.
Bharara’s office is scouring all of the Moreland files and correspondence, and determining if any of the cases should be prosecuted.
Cuomo’s campaign spokesman, Matt Wing, said, “The only way Astorino’s ad would be factual is if it were about him.”
He added, “Rob Astorino is at the center of a federal investigation over his failure to comply with anti-discrimination laws, and Astorino is being forced to testify under oath before a federal judge to explain making statements to federal officials that the US attorney has called false and misleading.”
Meanwhile, Cuomo has been outspending Astorino by about 10-to-1. Astorino doesn’t have enough cash to blanket the airwaves with the ad and, like the original, five decades ago, it will have a very short run.
It will probably be aired only one day.
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